A newly released image from NASA shows the solar corona in great detail after the Parker Solar Probe performs the closest flyby.
On the closest flyby of all time, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe captured a newly released image of solar wind removed from the outermost atmosphere of the sun, the Corona.
Scientists are learning more about the effects of the sun across the solar system, including events that could affect the Earth.
In a recent release, Nikki Fox, Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Bureau at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said: “We are witnessing the threat of space weather begins not just with models, but with our eyes. This new data will help us significantly improve spatial weather forecasts to ensure safety for astronauts and protect technology on Earth and across the solar system.”
The solar wind of the sun was captured in detail
The probe, recorded at high resolution, was the first time a collision of numerous coronal mass emissions (or CMEs), a massive explosion of charged particles that play a major role in the weather in space.
“In these images, we see CMEs essentially heading upwards from each other,” says Angelos Vourilidas, WISPR instrument scientist at Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory, which designs, builds and operates spacecraft in Laurel, Maryland. “We use this to see how CMES meet up. This is important for the weather in space.”
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Parker solar probes have discovered that while solar wind is a stable wind near the Earth, it is nothing under the sun. The spacecraft experienced a switchback or zigzag magnetic field when it was within 14.7 million miles of the sun. Scientists have found that these switchbacks that occurred in clusters are seen more frequently than expected using data from Parker solar probes.
How close was the probe to the sun?
On December 24, 2024, the Parker Solar Probe began its approach closest to the sun, moving just 3.8 million miles from the surface of the sun. With that in view, if the Earth and the Sun are only a foot apart, the Parker’s probe will be about 1/2 inch from the surface of the sun, according to NASA.
In the orbit closest to the sun on the spacecraft, various scientific instruments, including a wide field imager on solar probes (or WISPRs), were used to collect data as they passed through the atmosphere outside the sun or the coronavirus.
The continuous flow of electric charging particles from the solar wind, the solar system and the sun furious throughout the coronavirus, both can be seen in new WISPR photos. Knowing the origins of solar winds in solar winds is the first step to understanding their effects, according to NASA.
How does the solar wind affect the Earth’s atmosphere?
The Earth’s magnetic field is our invisible guardian. This field creates a barrier to protect us from the powerful solar wind. Magnetic fields can sometimes be destroyed by stronger solar winds.
In some cases, it can cause spatial weather events that hinder everything from land power networks to ocean communications to satellites in orbit, according to NASA. When the flow of particles interacts with the gases in the planet’s magnetic field, it also creates a spectacular aurora.
Parker solar probes are expected to continue collecting more data in their current orbit to make future passes through the coronavirus and help scientists discover the origins of dull solar winds. The next pass is scheduled for September 15th, 2025.
Source NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Johns Hopkins APL, Naval Research Institute, USA Today Research
